Audrey Cahak

Hadestown is a song you’ll want to hear again and again and again and again. And the cast of the national tour sings it in a way that honors the original yet rings with a sound all their own.

Creative Cauldron is uplifting children’s theater and giving young actors opportunities to fly in their original, musical adaptation of Peter Pan and Wendy. However, the script could use some more fairy dust to adapt it for a modern rendition. 

The Washington Ballet kicked off its 49th season with a well-rounded, vibrant showcase of its current talent and built anticipation for its upcoming half-century celebration. 

What did our critic think of RED PITCH at Olney Theatre? Red Pitch is a game-changer. One can tell from the play’s simultaneous use of a soccer consultant, dialect coach, fight choreographer, and on-site medic that it takes some serious practice and grit to bring this piece to life.  

The Kennedy Center’s Local Dance Comissioning Project (LDCP) 2024/2025 awardees Jamison Curcio and Shanice Mason presented a vulnerable, metaphysical dance autobiography in I have a secret to tell you…. 

What did our critic think of DISNEY'S ALADDIN DUAL LANGUAGE EDITION at Creative Cauldron? With a rub of a lamp, the Falls Church community theater turned into the singing and shining city of Agrabah, rounded out with a Spanish- and English-speaking cast. 

The Avant Bard Theatre’s niche lies in reinventing the classics, and to close out its 35th season, Avant Bard Theatre is taking on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This rendition, directed by artistic associate Kathleen Akerley, uses an abridged original script (with no sign of the Danes) while bending the tone, characters, and scenes with heightened malice and sorrow to explore how grief impacts the story.

Acosta Danza’s program Cuban Ecléctico ran in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center for just three days, but the show deserved much more stage time, both to receive a greater audience and to refine their performance. 

The Washington Ballet’s ALICE (in wonderland) is a theatrical, whimsical, and approachable translation of Lewis Carroll’s iconic duology, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 

What did our critic think of BEOWULF: A RETELLING by Taffety Punk Theatre? Experience a dynamic retelling of Beowulf by Taffety Punk Theatre. Performed April 4-19 at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. Don't miss it!

What did our critic think of AMERICAN FAST at Theater Alliance?

The elite performers of Complexions Contemporary Ballet took to the Opera House stage from March 20th to the 22nd for their first full company engagement at the Kennedy Center. In the same month that the Black Lives Matter Pavillion was being demolished and the executive branch began asserting control over the Kennedy Center’s programming, Complexions’s presence in the capital was controversial. Yet, the show delivered a message of resilience and bravery that is important to uphold in times of unrest.

What did our critic think of RIVERDANCE 30: THE NEW GENERATION at The Kennedy Center Opera House?

Contemporary dance choreographer and company founder Dana Tai Soon Burgess produced the dance concert “An Asian American Dance Journey” for a three-day run at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. While it is the company’s 32nd year in production, it was their first year collaborating with and dancing in the Woolly Mammoth. 

Written in 1613 by Lope de Vega, Fuenteovejuna is widely considered a masterpiece by the most influential playwright from Spain’s golden age. The play depicts a town revolting against tyrannical rule during a period of countrywide political unrest, based on the real events of the Fuenteovejuna village uprising in 1476. Though overzealous rulers terrorize the town, the people are not so easily defeated, and they unify to become stronger than their enemies. 

The excitement was overflowing in The Kennedy Center Opera House as the annual Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater program began. The audience was so heavily anticipating the start that they found every excuse to cheer — they even applauded the sponsor acknowledgement. 

An Evening with Swan Lake, presented by Classical Arts Entertainment and performed by the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine at The Music Center at Strathmore, was a fantastic flurry of feathers and flawless footwork, but it needed more finesse in the finale.